t thing she thought of. He was grateful to hear
of her anger with Mrs. Jackson, whose sympathy had expressed itself in
round abuse of him. His mother repeated the words.

"I will never listen to a word against Captain Parsons, Mrs. Jackson.
Whatever he did, he had a perfect right to do. He's incapable of acting
otherwise than as an honourable gentleman."

But if Mary's conduct aroused the admiration of all that knew her, it
rendered James still more blameworthy.

The hero-worship was conveniently forgotten, and none strove to conceal
the dislike, even the contempt, which he felt for the fallen idol. James
had outraged the moral sense of the community; his name could not be
mentioned without indignation; everything he did was wrong, even his
very real modesty was explained as overweening conceit.

And curiously enough, James was profoundly distressed by the general
disapproval. A silent, shy man, he was unreasonably sensitive to the
opinion of his fellows; and though he told himself that they were
stupid, ignorant, and narrow, their hostility nevertheless made him
miserable. Even though he contemned them, he was anxious that they
should like him. He refused to pander to their prejudices, and was too
proud to be conciliatory; yet felt bitterly wounded when he had excited
their aversion. Now he set to tormenting himself because he had despised
the adulation of Little Primpton, and could not equally despise its
censure.

* * *

Sunday came, and the good people of Little Primpton trooped to church.
Mrs Clibborn turned round and smiled at James when he took his seat, but
the Colonel sat rigid, showing by the stiffness of his backbone that his
indignation was supreme.

The service proceeded, and in due course Mr. Jackson mounted the pulpit
steps. He delivered his text: "_The fear of the Lord is to hate evil:
pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I
hate._"

The Vicar of Little Primpton was an earnest man, and he devoted much
care to the composition of his sermons. He was used to expound twice a
Sunday the more obvious parts of Holy Scripture, making in twenty
minutes or half an hour, for the benefit of the vulgar, a number of
trite reflections; and it must be confessed that he had great facility
for explaining at decorous length texts which were plain to the meanest
intelligence.

But having a fair acquaintance with the thought of others, Mr. Jackson
flattered himself that he was a thinke